Since starting my GCA journey in 2018, I've been plagued with extremely painful toe and foot cramps. They occur while I'm resting. My toes literally draw up and curl. Any effort to rub it out or calm the pain is futile. Stretching makes them intensify 10x! Currently, I'm taking prednisone 22 mg. and Prilosec, Vit D, b12, bananas for potassium, and take in lots of calcium-rich foods. I drink tonic water with quinine at the suggestion of one of my rheumys but results aren't stellar.
What do you think they are from? Pred? GCA? Do you get them? What do you do about it?
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Blurry62
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Magnesium will definitely help , especially if it's not included on the list of supplements in your daily vitamin and mineral complex.
You could try getting a cooling magnesium and zinc enriched cream , adding a few drops of lavender , camomile and peppermint oils to it and using that to massage into your feet , legs and joints at night .
It can help with the cramps and restless legs .
Putting a pillow cinder your feet at night also helps with these symptoms.
As the others say magnesium supplement does seem to help. I managed to get my GP to prescribe quinine sulfate which in my opinion is brilliant. They do not seem too keen on prescribing it nowadays. I only take it when I get cramps rather than as a prophylactic. It seems to act pretty fast and also then helps me get to sleep.
Gin is about the only alcoholic drink I don’t like! I think it is due to my parents having wild parties when I was a child and I would wander downstairs and the fun lovers (mainly doctors) would give me gin and orange. Everything else alcoholic is great apart from that coffee liqueur beginning with k??
My toes go walk about every so often when I reduce my pred. They literally cross over and I can watch them move. I reach down and pull them back without any pain. After a small argument (maybe 2 or 3 times) they behave themselves. It doesn't happen every time, but I put it down to pred withdrawal. I'm now down to 19mg. Hurrah! I'm a teen again !!
My OH was away when it first happened and, like you, I knew he would be looking askance at me, so I took a couple of photo's, but I don't know how to attach them.
Yes. That's right. the skeptics are discouraging. My toes dance around as well. I'm glad to have gotten all this advice and know I'm not the only one getting these. Again - I ask why don't docs get in these forums and learn what's going on in patients' lives??? They'd be better doctors and we'd be better taken care of.
Definitely magnesium deficiency. I had this also, I now take twice daily magnesium supplements and use magnesium gel to rub into my muscles if it gets bad. I notice they come back with a vengence if I forget to take the supplements.
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What happens with rheumy after you stop pred?
